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What does a madly-in-love couple who met on a study-abroad program in Costa Rica do when they are ready to tie the knot? Why head back to the land of their fateful meeting for some gorgeous beachside nuptials of course. A Brit & A Blonde were on hand to capture this happy bash full of love, sun and surfboards. Is there anything better? See the whole gorgeous day right here.

From Jessica of A Brit & A Blonde… Courtney and Adam exchanged “I do’s” on the sunny beaches of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, at the wonderful Playa Cielo hotel on Dec 30, 2011. They actually met eight years ago in Costa Rica while both on a study abroad program, so it was the perfect place to share their big with all their family and friends. Santa Teresa is renowned surf town, very much off the beaten path and full of character. They rented an absolutely amazing vintage surf board and a great bike with “Just Married” on the back for their couples portraits. So fab when couples incorporate objects into their wedding day that have a real personal meaning and connection it makes it so much more powerful and a great memento. Adam’s mom was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease so being able to capture these precious, once in a lifetime moments took on a whole other meaning that day.

From the bride and groom… We met eight years ago during a study abroad trip to Costa Rica. We were only in country two weeks before we were inseparable. We spent the next four months exploring the less than pristine city but charming (to us at least) city of Puntarenas, traveling throughout the rest of Central America, growing as individuals and as a couple and trying to figure out how a girl from the Northeast and a guy from the South were going to be able resume our current love when we made it back to the States. Well, as you can see, we made it happen. While it was tough at times, our friendship and love was robust and established on a firm foundation. We attribute a portion of these strengths to our time spent together in Costa Rica. We were able to share an important time of transition in our lives where we slowed down and realized what was important to us in our lives. We are always able to remember our bike rides, nightly beach runs, sunsets, long talks between ourselves and among friends, introductions to new cultures, and reaching beyond our borders, both actually and metaphorically, among other things to bring us back to where we need to be.

One common theme that runs through many of our stories about the time we spent in Costa Rica includes bicycles. We can’t look through our old photos without almost every third one including a bike. Courtney first told her friends that she was interested in the “cute blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with a Texas drawl” when I rode by the group of them lying on the beach. I first expressed my attraction to Courtney when she rode by me and my friend staring down at her from a balcony while she zoomed past on her bike carrying a pineapple in her basket. One story that Courtney recalls is when I was riding my bike through the Puntarenas’ neighborhood balancing an ice cream cake in 90-degree weather that I had made for her birthday. Our bikes became a representation of a transition that she and I made while we were living abroad. While riding a bike in the heat may not be as ideal as driving an air conditioned car it helped us slow down and enjoy the more important things such as each other.